


there are times when no one believes in me

by blenderfullasarcasm



Series: grandmeister of soul consumption [2]
Category: Soul Eater, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: 'is this what we're doing now? okay sure whatever', (what a mood), Don't copy to another site, First Meeting, Gen, M/M, Soul Eater AU, guest appearance by jiang cheng's inferiority complex, jc has known wwx most of his life, jc's inner monologue is more gay panic than he realizes, nie huaisang does his utmost to avoid exercise, nie mingjue is not a fan of his antics, now with fanart!, pre SangCheng, so he's just like, soul eater knowledge not required
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26959741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blenderfullasarcasm/pseuds/blenderfullasarcasm
Summary: Jiang Cheng’s first interaction with Nie Huaisang involves quite literally running into him in one of the DWMA's many hallway, Nie Huaisang squeaking involuntarily, getting a conniving, opportunistic look in his eyes and then proceeding to hide behind Jiang Cheng like he’s using him as a meat shield.He's confused for a split second, then the massive mountain that is Nie Mingjue comes stomping down the corridor with the rage of a thousand suns, and Jiang Cheng thinks, yeah, that tracks.-----aka (more of) the soul eater no one asked for
Relationships: (Pre), Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Niè Huáisāng
Series: grandmeister of soul consumption [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959922
Comments: 14
Kudos: 118





	there are times when no one believes in me

**Author's Note:**

> cw: blood mention
> 
> what you need to know about Soul Eater:  
> basically, imagine going to school at the cloud recesses, but wei wuxian is the headmaster and half the students can turn into various pointy objects while the other half are called meisters and can wield them if their wavelengths match well enough  
> the school's name is DWMA, which stands for Death Weapon Meister Academy. it's in nevada, which kinda figures.

Jiang Cheng is a little surprised when his first interaction with Nie Huaisang involves quite literally running into him in one of the DWMA's many hallways. The near-collision results in Nie Huaisang squeaking involuntarily and then getting a conniving, opportunistic look in his eyes before proceeding to hide behind Jiang Cheng like he’s using him as a meat shield.

Then the massive mountain that is Nie Mingjue comes stomping down the corridor with the rage of a thousand suns, and Jiang Cheng thinks,  _ yeah, that tracks. _

Nie Mingjue, the combat instructor, is possibly the only teacher Jiang Cheng can reliably recognize, given they haven’t had any classes yet. He’d been at the entrance ceremony, though, and, to be fair, he has the kind of stature that was hard to forget.

Being the only other person in that particular hallway at the time, Nie Mingjue immediately zeros in on him, and Jiang Cheng feels like he’s been put between the crosshairs of a grenade launcher, which is a little bit concerning.

Nie Huaisang - not that he actually knew his name at the time - eeps and then there’s a faint clattering sound as, presumably, he either drops something or turns into a weapon. Jiang Cheng takes half a step back in case it’s the latter - and, given the sudden lack of the sound of panted breaths coming from behind him, it’s probably safe to assume it is. Obviously, this is solely to hide him better and not because Jiang Cheng is afraid of Nie Mingjue.

...Although Nie Mingjue is looking very intimidating. Possibly even slightly more intimidating than he had at the entrance ceremony, which Jiang Cheng hadn’t actually thought was possible. 

Nie Mingjue thunders towards him, stopping at an entirely respectable distance. Jiang Cheng is not a short person, and he still has to crane his neck to look him in the eye.

“Have you seen Huaisang?” Nie Mingjue asks politely, voice dark.

Jiang Cheng would prefer not to die today, so he wants to answer the question truthfully. However, he has absolutely no idea who ‘Huaisang’ is, so all he can manage is a gruff, “Who?”

Nie Mingjue scowls deeply, and belatedly Jiang Cheng realizes that the guy currently hiding behind him is probably ‘Huaisang.’

He’s not a hundred percent sure, though, so he doesn’t say anything.

Nie Mingjue sighs. “He’s about this tall,” he says, holding up a hand to indicate, presumably, ‘Huaisang’s’ approximate height, “with short dark hair and big eyes  _ that will not allow him to skip weapons practice again - ” _

Nie Mingjue sounds like he’s about to devolve into annoyed ranting (because  _ apparently _ he’s not actually angry? Which means he is capable of looking more pissed off than this. Which is. Terrifying.), so Jiang Cheng points down the corridor and says, “Oh, he was running that way,” which is entirely true.

_ “That crafty little - ” _ Nie Mingjue swears under his breath and sets off down the hallway. He doesn’t seem to be moving particularly quickly, but the walls shake in the wake of his heavy footsteps and when Jiang Cheng blinks, he’s gone.

The DWMA is...strange, he’s learning.

Jiang Cheng takes a step forward, and when he turns around all he sees of Nie Huaisang’s weapon form is a glint of metal before the guy himself is standing in front of him.

“Nie Huaisang, I presume?” he asks wryly.

The so-named Nie Huaisang shrugs sheepishly, a small smile on his face. He pulls a fan out of nowhere and flutters it in front of his face, hiding his mouth. “I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage…?” He trails off, clearly waiting for Jiang Cheng to introduce himself.

“Jiang Cheng, courtesy name Wanyin,” Jiang Cheng offers with a slight bow, which Nie Huaisang belatedly returns. “This is my first year here,” he adds stiffly, thankful for the manners his mother had drilled into him from a young age for once. Otherwise, he’d never manage to have anything remotely resembling a conversation with anyone other than his siblings.

“Nie Huaisang, but you already knew that.” He waves his fan idly, eyes fixed unerringly on Jiang Cheng. 

Jiang Cheng resists his urge to shudder, because those eyes seem like they see right through him, straight to his core where he’s soft and vulnerable and  _ he doesn’t like it when people do that  _ so he glances away first. He pretends to check the corridor for Nie Mingjue, though he’s pretty sure that he’s fooling exactly nobody - it’s not like they wouldn’t notice his heavy footsteps coming their way far before he came into view.

Nie Huaisang’s eyes curve upwards, and even though Jiang Cheng can’t see his mouth, he’s pretty sure he’s smirking. 

“I think we’ll get along just fine, Jiang-xiong,” Nie Huaisang says, finally letting his unnerving gaze drop to...somewhere around Jiang Cheng’s arms, apparently (?) - oh, right, probably at the silver bands around his biceps that mark him as the heir to the Jiang family. Whatever, at least Nie Huaisang’s eyes aren’t boring into his  _ soul _ anymore. Figuratively, of course.

...Actually, on second thought, it’s completely possible that Nie Huaisang was  _ literally _ looking at his soul.

Jiang Cheng resists the urge to cross his arms over his chest. He’s not some pure maiden who’s just noticed someone peeping on her in the bath. He can bare his nipples if he wants to.

...On second thought, no he can’t - his mother might just actually murder him if he did. The  _ looks _ she gives Wei Wuxian for wearing fishnets all the time are bad enough - he doesn’t want to imagine her reaction if he started misplacing his undershirts.

Speaking of Wei Wuxian.

“Wait until you meet my brother - you’ll probably get along better with him,” Jiang Cheng says honestly, and definitely not at all bitterly. “Everyone else does.”

“Hmm.” Nie Huaisang’s eyes narrow, but he says nothing. Jisng Cheng can’t really see what the rest of his face is doing, since it’s hidden behind his fan, but he gets the impression that it isn’t particularly agreeable.

Jiang Cheng shrugs. It’s the truth.

Then Nie Mingjue’s thundering footsteps start echoing from somewhere close by, and Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang barely have to exchange a glance before they’re moving towards the other end of the hallway. There’s a fork there, where they can split up and go off in separate directions, both of which are ‘away from Nie Mingjue.’

Jiang Cheng isn’t  _ running away, _ because he’s a Jiang, and the Jiang family motto is to attempt the impossible, which is often interpreted as ‘run straight into danger at any possible opportunity,’ especially by his brother. 

So obviously, he isn’t running away.

But maybe he speed walks a little bit faster than is strictly socially acceptable.

Nie Huaisang doesn’t bother with propriety and just flat out  _ sprints. _ Somehow, he keeps his footsteps lighter than Jiang Cheng’s (which is pretty impressive because Jiang Cheng is already almost silent on his feet), and then disappears around the corner..

Jiang Cheng doesn’t talk to him again - barely sees him at all, really - until a little over a week into classes.

And, once again, it’s because of Nie Mingjue.

They’re in weapons class, and Jiang Cheng is vaguely aware that Nie Huaisang should, in fact, be in the classroom, since everyone in their year has the same schedule. He hadn’t paid too much attention to it, though - at least not until Nie Mingjue bursts through the door five minutes after class is supposed to start with Nie Huaisang’s shirt collar clenched tightly in his fist. Nie Huaisang dangles a good twenty centimeters from the ground, looking vaguely disgruntled.

Nie Mingjue does not seem to notice or care.

“Today,” he says to the class like he doesn’t have his little brother hanging from his fist. Jiang Cheng is reminded of a mother cat scruffing her kitten, not that he’ll ever mention it to anyone under any circumstances ever. “You will be doing a partner exercise - the same one from the first class, so you should be familiar with it. You have two minutes to choose a partner. Go.”

Immediately, the silence of the classroom shatters as the students clamor to grab the most desirable partners - Jiang Cheng hears Wei Wuxian call for A-Jie, so they’re both taken care of, which means that he has to fend off grasping hands and make his way towards the rest of the people he is tentatively qualifying as friends.

Which means that he just barely catches a glimpse of Nie Huaisang’s wounded puppy eyes when Nie Mingjue tells him that he’s not partnering with him today.

Jiang Cheng has no idea how Nie Mingjue manages to stand firm in his decision in front of that expression. Practice, probably.

Nie Huaisang’s breath hitches and his puppy eyes shine, somehow  _ intensifying.  _ It’s a little bit terrifying. “But…”

“I said  _ no, _ Huaisang.” Nie Mingjue sighs, wearing the type of long-suffering look that is characteristic shared by older brothers everywhere, and also Jiang Cheng, who is Wei Wuxian’s older brother in every way except birth order. “You won’t  _ always _ be able to partner with me, so today you need to partner with one of your classmates,” he says, tone unyielding.

“But  _ da-ge…” _ Nie Huaisang whines, and Jiang Cheng gets to his feet.

Wei Wuxian has already partnered with A-Jie, and Mianmian has saved the rest of them by biting the bullet and taking on Jin Zixuan. Lan Wangji, of course, stands off to the side and doesn’t bother trying to partner with anyone because a) no one’s been able to sync with him for more than two minutes, despite Wei Wuxian’s best efforts and b) he’s already managed partial transformations, so this particular exercise he can do alone anyway - and that pretty much covers all the people Jiang Cheng knows and/or cares about in the class.

So it’s obviously because he doesn’t have a partner yet that he half-raises a hand and says, “I’ll do it,” and not at all because of the brief lost expression that flits across Nie Huaisang’s face.

Nie Mingjue raises an eyebrow and drags his eyes down Jiang Cheng’s form in a way that makes him feel uncomfortably seen. He hasn’t heard anything about Nie Mingjue being capable of reading wavelengths (or minds) with any amount of precision, but, well. 

It’s terrifying, is what it is, but Jiang Cheng stands his ground.

Nie Mingjue finally looks away, and Jiang Cheng very specifically does  _ not _ sigh in relief at the sudden lack of the heavy weight of his attention.

He  _ doesn’t,  _ no matter what Wei Wuxian says later.

Nie Mingjue shrugs, then bumps Nie Huaisang with his shoulder, pushing him forward, and Nie Huaisang has no choice but to stumble towards Jiang Cheng.

“Get on with it, then,” Nie Mingjue grunts as Jiang Cheng moves automatically to steady Nie Huaisang, though it’s not really necessary. Anyone who's spent longer than a week in Nie Mingjue's presence has had some semblance of balance beaten into them, and Nie Huaisang has been in his care for a lot longer than a week.

Nie Mingjue ambles off somewhere, presumably to do his job and make sure the other pairs know what they're supposed to be doing. Jiang Cheng belatedly removes his hands from where they've been respectably settled on Nice Huaisang's waist. There's no reason for him to be embarrassed - nothing untoward had happened, after all - but tell that to the heat he can still feel rising in his cheeks.

Jiang Cheng coughs. "...Do you want to?" he asks, a bit awkwardly. “Partner with me, I mean?”

Nie Huaisang stares at him for a long moment.

Jiang Cheng's hand twitches, and he's barely able to prevent himself from lifting it to scratch at the back of his head, abashed. His mother always has something to say about it whenever he lets his uncertainty show, so he's trying to train himself out of it. 

...It's a work in progress.

"If you want a different partner, that’s fine," Jiang Cheng clarifies when Nie Huaisang remains silent. "I can probably still switch out with someone better."

Nie Huaisang blinks, then shakes his head, short hair flowing in a way that Jiang Cheng had previously been sure only happened in shampoo commercials. 

Apparently he'd been wrong. 

"No, I think you'll do just fine, Jiang-xiong," Nie Huaisang replies, a small smile dancing across his face.

"...Right, then," Jiang Cheng says gruffly, pretending that he can't feel his blood rushing to his ears. "Let's get on with it."

He holds out his hand expectantly. Nie Huaisang hesitates for a moment, then takes it.

There’s a moment of silence while they check that they can actually sync, because it would be pretty embarrassing for them both if they couldn’t and tried to anyway. It feels a little weird to Jiang Cheng, kind of like...light-breaking-through-leaves-and-sun-dappled-ground-in-forest, is the image he gets. It probably feels weird because he’s only ever really synced with A-Jie and Wei Wuxian, and they are two opposite sides of a spectrum.

Nie Huaisang blinks, possibly slightly startled, then dips his head in acknowledgement that their synchronization is acceptable to him.

“If you’ll give me a moment,” he says pleasantly, before letting his eyes fall closed. Jiang Cheng’s a little surprised, because his own weapon form comes to him as easily as slipping on a T-shirt, but he supposes his can’t be the only experience in the world. Maybe, to Nie Huaisang, shifting is more like struggling into the leggings he’s currently wearing - the ones that look like they’re practically painted on. He can’t imagine that those are easy to put on in the morning.

That’s when Jiang Cheng realizes rather abruptly that he doesn’t actually know what Nie Huaisang’s weapon form is, let alone whether or not it’s something he’s capable of using with any degree of proficiency.

In fact, he’s pretty sure no one in the classroom knows what it is - except for Nie Mingjue, as his brother and apparently occasional meister, and possibly Lan Wangji, just because it seems like the sort of thing he’d know - because Nie Huaisang has somehow managed to skip every class where he’d have to shift with unerring accuracy.

(Everyone knows that Nie Mingjue’s weapon form is a giant fuck-off sword, but somehow Jiang Cheng doesn’t think that Nie Huaisang’s is the same.)

Jiang Cheng glances down at his hand, where he’s now holding a standard-sized war fan. It looks a little on the delicate side, metal spokes covered with paper that has clearly been hand-painted, but that seems appropriate given Nie Huaisang’s general appearance.

Huh.

On the bright side, though, Jiang Cheng has some experience with using fans as weapons, so he’s not  _ completely  _ in the dark here. He might be a little rusty, but not enough to impact their performance in the exercise, probably.

He flicks the fan open with one quick movement, and immediately his attention is drawn to the fan’s monture. Its skeleton is metal - probably iron, which is traditional and makes way more sense given the components of the human body (but, then again, the fact that a select few human beings could turn into weapons in the first place was a little bit absurd anyway) but it looks more like steel - which isn’t unusual. Pretty standard, even.

However.

He hadn’t noticed it when the fan was closed, since the guards had blocked his view, but each spoke narrows into a point at the top, the edges thin and clean, like they might be able to slit someone’s throat if they were sharp enough.

Jiang Cheng brushes his thumb lightly against the edge of one of the fan’s spokes. A drop of blood wells up in its path, and he watches contemplatively as it drips onto the metal rib, running down towards the pivot pin.

...It’s  _ definitely _ sharp enough.

He thinks he sees Nie Huaisang shiver in the reflection of the metal ribs, eyes bright and cheeks flushed in what is most likely embarrassment, though Jiang Cheng has never been particularly adept at identifying emotions since most of his own manifest as anger anyway.

“...I can work with this,” Jiang Cheng decides, and Nie Huaisang’s eyes glint in the metal of the fan’s skeleton, his laugh echoing in the back of Jiang Cheng’s mind.

**Author's Note:**

> NHS, eyeing JC’s biceps: I think we’ll get along just fine
> 
> \-----  
> title from the eng version of Black Paper Moon
> 
> [sangcheng art](https://blenderfullasarcasm.tumblr.com/post/631387925123301376/day-7-fancy-because-nie-huaisang-is-a-fancy)
> 
> come visit me on [tumblr](https://blenderfullasarcasm.tumblr.com/) or check out [my translation sideblog](https://blenderfullasarcasm-translations.tumblr.com/)  
> feel free to send me questions or prompts there!
> 
> follow the [grandmeister of soul consumption tag](https://blenderfullasarcasm.tumblr.com/tagged/grandmeister-of-soul-consumption)  
> there for series updates and fanart!
> 
> for my next fic for this series, it's a toss up between actual plot and wwx making lqr say memes. thoughts?


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